Another Teachers Gift Question

No, you do not look like a cheap skate! I'm a teacher, and I appreciate anything done for me. I do not judge the amount given or question it. I know that the parents that send in gifts are trying showing their appreciation. The amount doesn't matter to me.

You know, things are tight everywhere. The teacher gets a salary already...this is just a way of saying a little extra thank you. I would HOPE that the room mother would be discreet enough not to talk about the size of contributions with other parents. I think $10 is just fine, but if you're really worried about it, just ask the room mother what the average contribution is and decide then whether or not you need to contribute more.

I'll weigh in as a teacher. $10 does not make you a cheap skate! You contributed something as a way to show your appreciation. I know not all parents can contribute similarly; it's the thought that counts.

I don't know what kind of school your kids go to, but I am a first grade teacher and any thing that you give is sooo appreciated. I work at a very low income school and if I get anything from the kids it is hand written cards and hand picked flowers. These things from the kids mean so much. This year I got a $10 gift card to Applebees and I was amazed. I really know that this was difficult for the family and really showed a lot of thought and care.
Do not feel bad at all for contributing $10 I think that's a great amount. I would suggest having your child make a little card or write about what they learned this year. Those things really mean a lot to teachers. :)

I am a teacher, too, and I would love to get anything at all from the parents of my students! Even a thoughtful homemade card is nice! Since I teach Special Ed, I am often overlooked at the end of the year, so any teacher who gets a gift card should consider themselves lucky!

I am a room mother and am collecting for my daughter's teacher right now. I absolutely believe that the beauty of the class gift is that everyone can contribute what they are comfortable with and in the end it is a much larger (and hopefully more useful) gift than a bunch of $10.00 trinkets. I have some parents who give $5.00 and some who give $15 it largely depends on their personal situation, how many children they have and how many other teachers they are buying for. I would not ever disclose who gave what or how much. Together we can do more and that is the thought. Do what you are comfortable with....I would rather a $5.00 contribution from every kid than some families doing nothing because they can't afford the "price tag" that way it can truly be from the entire class.

I think $10 is just fine. Teacher won't know who gives what, and I bet you aren't going to be the lowest amount. The teachers I know and have had this conversation with have said a $5 gift card to Chick Fil A is awesome, they can buy lunch one day. Don't feel cheap.

Just to let you know you are not a cheap skate-I received a letter from one of my daughters room parents asking about going in on a gift card for the teacher and she was asking that we give $3-$5 towards the gift. The whole idea is to save money and since many people have multiple kids at different grade levels it just makes it easier on the parents, but also gives the teacher something to know that she is truly appreciated.

I don't think it is cheap. Whenever people pool money you always pitch in less than if you would have given individually but whenever you pitch in you end up with more in the end than if you gave indvidually since everyone is contributing. It makes perfect sense. They teacher is getting a total of $220 and I am sure the teacher will be very pleased and touched.

I agree with other posters that $10.00 is certainly plenty generous. I am a teacher too and certainly do not expect gifts and am very grateful for any gift I receive. I especially appreciate the notes and cards the kids make themselves. My district is very mixed economically and it is not uncommon for the families to not give anything or if they do give to give a $5.00 Dunkin Donuts card or something similar. The only time I have known families to give something in the $25.00 range is when I have had more than one of their children.

I love the idea of pitching in as a group to do something. Like other posters said as much as we appreciate the thought behind the trinkets we can't possibly keep them all (I teach 50 kids a year and I have been teaching 11 years. If I get something at the holidays and the end of the year that is already 1100 trinkets! And I still have at least another 20-25 years of teaching to go!). Make sure someone has checked on the legality/acceptability of it though. There are ethics laws regarding accepting larger gifts in many places. In MA it is illegal for any public servant and that includes teachers to accept a larger gift (I believe the limit is $50) even if it is a group gift and each person only put in $1).

My favorite gift still to this day I received when I was student teaching. My cooperating teacher bought a tote bag (which I still use!) from LL Bean and had the art teacher put my name and a picture on it. Then every student in the class signed their name to it. Those first graders are now headed off to college and I still think of them every time I use the bag. None of those families had to contribute a cent but it meant so much to me. A similar bag could easily have been purchased if each family put in a dollar or two though.

Another great gift I saw a colleague receive was a quilt that a parent in the class made -- each child donated a 12" square of fabric that they decorated and signed then the parent sewed it all together. Again, a very reasonable donation from each family but an extremely meaningful gift.

I would not feel bad at all about $10 -- it is very generous.

I agree that the purpose of a group gift is to allow people to give what they can afford or feel is appropriate. Many families have several children and if they have to ante up $25 per child (right around the same time they are finding summer day care or programs), it can be prohibitive. Give what you want. The people who are discussing the amount they gave ($25) are defeating the purpose!

As a former teacher, I can tell you that I absolutely did not need a million trinkets from so many children. It was very sweet but, really, after 5 years, can you imagine how much I accumulated? If you go to yard sales, you will see all kinds of "World's Best Teacher" doo-dads for sale - no one can keep all of these. Cookies are a sweet idea too, but honestly, what do you think we teachers do with 20 batches of cookies and their matching jars or tins? Parents and kids think it's cute, but they don't think about how guilty the teacher will feel because she can't eat them all or can't display her 40th trinket in her home.

The money given to teachers is, more often than not, used by the teacher to purchase materials for the classroom, to make up for budget shortfalls. Anyone who thinks teachers are overpaid is sorely mistaken, with the possible exception of those employed by a few elite private schools. Even if they spend the money on themselves, so what? My friend is a kindergarten teacher, and she got a gift certificate from the class to a nice boutique. She bought a lovely pocketbook - and every time someone compliments her on it, she says, "I got this from the class of 2006" - so believe me, she remembers the class who gave it to her. I would try to give the teacher a gift card for either a mid-level store or boutique, a multi-service spa, or something like an American Express gift card. I wouldn't do it for a cheaper store, that's all, where the teacher won't have many options except to buy household items.

When I collect money, I pass a large envelope around with every family's name on it. I don't look at what they put in. They cross their name off when they are done. If they put in $25, fine. If they put in $3, fine. When it's done, the teacher or other recipient (choral conductor, whatever), gets the gift.

I think the coordinating parents who offer to put your words of gratitude on the card have things in the right priority.

Stick with your contribution if you are comfortable with it and don't second-guess it. You don't want to encourage more of the parents chatting about what they gave to an "anonymous" gift collection.

I personally do not agree with giving teachers money as a gift, the gift is supposed to be a thank you from the child. More appropriate gifts would be art work or home made cookies the kids helped with in a nice cookie jar or tin. The teacher gets paid to do the job, do we really think they want more money as a thank you, or something special to help them remember that class?

That is fine. It all adds up, it is just supposed to be a little something. I am a future teacher and woudl appreciate a $220 gift card.
Good Luck

M.

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$10. is a perfect amount. I would not worry about it at all. The teacher is going to be thrilled and overwhelmed. What a great gift.

I got all the parents together and asked (in an email) if anyone would like to donate some money towards a gift for the kindergarden teachers.( and BTW I can't afford 25 dollars, I don't expect others to) The other mother who was helping me said 15 dollars, but I said not everyone can afford that, and that we should just ask for a donation. People have donated what they want We got them Vera Bradley bags.I've had some parents donate 15 and some donate a smaller amount. Don't feel cheap, nobody should be questioning what your donating. It's the thought that's important. I hope that helps.

As a former first grade teacher my thoughts are "don't sweat it". Only a really terrible person would judge negatively for a kind thought. I had PLENTY of kids who didn't bring any sort of gift at all and they were from all sorts of income brackets. You don't owe the teacher anything extra. That being said, who doesn't like gifts? If you WANT to give something or want to give more than you already have go ahead and do it, but ONLY if you want to. I always thought that I am not the person to judge what sort of financial situation a family is in, and whether they have the cash or not I have no right to expect it from them. Then again... if your kid is a total brat AND you have tons of expendable income, then the teacher may be expecting you to pay up. Haha! $220 is MORE than generous as an end -of-the-year gift. And teachers really appreciate the "lump sum" approach rather than the trinkets and mugs.

PS...there are some districts that have put in place limits to how much money/price per gift that teachers are allowed to accept per family. You may want to check with the principal to be sure your group gift is able to be accepted by the teacher.

I think Everyone should give what they Can !! there are no guidelines. Thats very generous to give her a gift in the first place. No worries :-) Do you honestly care what they 'think' about you? I woudlnt give it a second thought!

I have never spent 25.00 on a teachers gift. In these time you do what you can and you should not feel bad about that! My guess is everyone has to tighten the belt this year. No worries!!!

Hi there,

$10.00 is plenty. Teacher gifts have gotten way out of hand. There is actually a law that says a teacher is not allowed to accept a gift over $50.00 so no one should be getting these huge gift cards.

My two cents,
A. W.